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(06 Oct) 080801 Winter Soldier - Testimonies from Iraq War Veterans The Winter Soldier investigation originally took place in Detroit in 1971. Vietnam War veterans testified about war crimes they had committed or witnessed. In 2003 the United States invaded Iraq on false pretenses. Not one of the many allegations to justify the attack was true. In an endless war and occupation no one has been held accountable. The president says, "I don't regret it at all." The vice-president says the war is "succeeding brilliantly." Representative Dennis Kucinich has introduced 35 articles of impeachment against the president. As one comic remarked, "Is that all?" Thousands of American troops have died, tens of thousands have been wounded, war costs may exceed $3 trillion. The war has come home in tragic ways. Divorce, depression, PTSD, domestic violence and suicide rates are high among returning veterans. Taking the name Winter Soldier, dozens of war veterans gathered in Silver Spring, Maryland in the USA, to talk about their experiences. Taking the name Winter Soldier, dozens of war veterans gathered in March 2008 at Silver Spring, Maryland in the USA, to talk about their experiences. (13 Oct) 031102 Chris Hedges - War As An Addiction War is an emotionally intense and exhilarating experience. From ancient times war and the warrior have been celebrated. The adrenalin rushes of combat, the parades, the medals and the adulation are all part of the allure of war. It is imbued with ideas of nobility, selflessness and glory. General George Patton, one of America's most famous warriors said, "Compared to war all other forms of human endeavour shrink to insignificance. God, I do love it so." War is an elixir that gives some who wage it purpose and resolve. If one is not careful, as Chris Hedges warns, it can become addictive. Chris Hedges joined The New York Times in 1990. Before that he reported for The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitor and National Public Radio. He has seen war up close in the Balkans, the Middle East and Central America. His book War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning received the 2003 Overseas Press Club award. The Los Angeles Times calls it, "A powerful message to people contemplating the escalation of the "war against terrorism." (20 Oct) 060701 Noam Chomsky - Facts Matter: The War on Terror Doris Lessing, the eminent British writer, once said of Tony Blair: "He believes in magic. That if you say a thing, it's true." She could describing George Bush. The American president, who has commented that he has "war on his mind," proudly proclaims that he goes by his "gut" instinct when he makes decisions. That's scary. Stated simply, facts matter. Shortly after 9/11, Bush declared a "war on terror," not knowing or recalling that years before Ronald Reagan beat him to the slogan. Anyway, some heads did turn. Gore Vidal found it absurd. "It's like a war on dandruff," he observed Noam Chomsky, internationally renowned MIT professor, practically invented modern linguistics. In addition to his pioneering work in that field he has been a leading voice for peace and social justice. He is in huge demand as a public speaker all over the world. The New York Times calls him, "a global phenomenon, perhaps the most widely read voice on foreign policy on the planet." Author of scores of books, his latest are Failed States and the bestseller Imperial Ambitions. (27 Oct) 050802 John Bonifaz - The Case for Impeaching Bush On May 1, 2005 the Sunday Times of London published a secret memo which summarized meetings between top British officials and the Bush Administration. Dubbed the "Downing Street Memo" it instantly became front-page news in Britain but not in the United States. The memo's explosive content reveals that by July 2002 George W. Bush had already decided to invade Iraq, that he knew that legal cover for the war was "thin," and that he would need to sell it to the public using "fixed" intelligence claims about 9/11 terror links and WMDs. John Bonifaz, lawyer, activist, and author of Warrior King, has launched a legal and citizens campaign aimed to impeach President Bush. The campaign is online at afterdowningstreet.org.